To Ocean's End by S.M Welles

me.”
    Mido appeared in the doorway with the new techies’ swords and duffle bags. He looked quite shocked and overburdened. He tried popping a smile but it came off as more of a grimace. “Hi,” he said. “I  heard a commotion and shouting. I...” He paused. “I guess everyone’s okay.” His pale blue eyes found Jessie’s. “Jessie, who are these guys? I thought you--”
    Ted popped to his feet. “I’m Ted and that’s my partner Ed.” He pointed to Ed, then shook hands with Mido. “We’re your new techies.”
    “Oh.” He set the bags and swords down. His gaze fell on Jessie, then on Ed and he narrowed his eyes a little. “Mido. The ship cook.”
    “Oh wonderful!” Ed said. “Lemme know if you ever need any help in the galley. I love cooking.”
    Ted turned on him. “Ed, you keep your sooty hands out of everyone’s food! You never taste test when you experiment.”
    “Fine, fine.”
    Mido said, “And Jessie, you need to stick with your nickname while on this ship.”
    “Why?” she asked.
    “It’s--” Mido glanced up and down the hall, then took a step into the room. “Your name’s from Greek mythology.”
    “I know.”
    “It’s... it’s--look, I don’t care but I’m gonna stick with calling you Jessie so I don’t accidentally slip--but your given name is linked to a stupid sailor superstition, so you’re better off doing as the captain says, okay?”
    “Okay. I’ve caused enough trouble just by being here.”
    Mido took a step closer and put his hands on his knees. “Don’t listen to Jacobi or Cancer. Jacobi’s just a douche bag with some issues of his own, and Cancer is crazy superstitious. Even Dyne makes fun of him for some of the things he does to avoid bad luck.”
    Ted said, “Yeah, hun. Listen to Mido. He’s one of the smart ones.”
    “And handsome ones,” Ed said. “Mm-mm! You got some nice arms there.”
    Mido straightened up, his expression caught between shock and a frown.
    Ted waved a hand. “Oh relax. We’re harmless.”
    The cook thought a moment, and then realization dawned on him. “Oh, that’s what you meant by ‘partner!’”
    “Mhm.”
    He started cracking up. “This is gonna be so much fun. Sauna’s gonna have a blast working with you two.”
    “Why? He’s straight.”
    “Right. And you guys aren’t. He--” Mido backed up and check the hallway again. His grin widened. “The crew and I would be indebted to both of you if you could find a way to make him pick more secluded places to entertain himself. Sorry, Jessie.”
    “That’s so gross!” she said, wrinkling her nose.
    Mido shrugged. “We’re guys. We spend most of our lives at sea.”
    “Oo!” Ted said. “Maybe we should play matchmaker!”
    “We should,” Ed said. “Jessie, what do you think of Mido? He’s a handsome gentleman. Needs a new tank but it’s hard to find a pair of arms like his.”
    Mido studied Jessie like he was considering the match. He popped a nervous smile and ran a hand through his black hair.
    Ted said, “Aw, we made him blush. There you go, Jessie. Give him a whirl!”
    Jessie retreated lower in Ed’s arms and stiffened up. She didn’t want to contemplate getting in bed with another man for a long time.
    Hurt played across Mido’s face but it was replaced with empathy when he saw her cringe. “Guys, she’s been through a lot lately. I don’t think matchmaking is a good idea.”
    Ted said, “I’m sorry. I forgot. Sauna mentioned something but he didn’t stick around to give us details.” He turned to Jessie. “May we asked what happened?”
    Jessie’s stomach churned. She didn’t want to talk about it but she didn’t see the point in not explaining things. Even though none of them were a threat to her, it was still hard to talk about what happened. She felt like soiled and damaged goods, less of a woman, dirty, a reject, refuse. She’d been taken and abused in ways no woman should ever experience. What decent guy would want to bother